D c61s01
Summary List of stories Phase II Night: Ashes, Metal, And Corruption << chapter 60 Chapter 61 of 75 The Cost chapter 62 >> << previous scene Scene 1 of 2 next scene >> Location Participants Time Summary Prologue | Phase I | Phase II | Epilogue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 Text Scrivener Blooms was laying quietly in Twilight's old bed in the library: it still smelled faintly of her, even though it had been years now since she had moved out. But then again, Twilight did still spend at least a night a week here, with Celestia... even if the library had taken on definite bits of Celestia's personality here and there, and become more like a home, than a library and archive. He was wrapped in bandages, and several bottles of pills and potions rested on the table beside the bed, all of which he refused to take and Luna had grumpily agreed that her husband didn't need. Celestia had been adamant that he take at least half of the medications she brought from Canterlot and Zecora, but they had finally negotiated and agreed that Scrivener and Luna would spend the night here, and he wouldn't have to take the pills unless he started deteriorating again. Twilight could go home and watch over Antares, and Celestia checked in on him every hour or so, plainly worried for his condition. Not that Scrivener could blame her, as he laid quietly in bed, breathing slowly and tasting the mire still in his jaws. He was still spitting it up every now and then... not vomiting, not coughing, more just.. spitting the sludge out as it built up in his jaws. Celestia had conducted a few tests on him, and she hadn't shared the results yet... which meant she was scared. Scared enough that she was hoping it was temporary, or she had made a mistake in... whatever she'd done. Either way, it wasn't good. Luna was snoring loudly in Celestia's room: Scrivener wasn't quite sure why Celestia had wanted them to stay apart, and Luna had almost thrown a temper tantrum, but thankfully had been too tired to really work herself up or cause any damage. Celestia's clear concern for them had helped her believe that there really was some reason for it, even if Celestia wasn't sharing. But Luna was also adamant that they get their answers by tomorrow at the latest, although at least the rainbow-maned winged unicorn had agreed to that. As Scrivener laid silently in bed, staring at the ceiling, he closed his eyes and concentrated... but still, there was static, clogging their link. Making it hard for him to feel Luna's emotions, much less hear her thoughts, muffling the feeling of tiredness coming from her. He knew that normally, with her sound asleep, trying to regain all the strength they'd used up over the last few days, he would be at the very least dozy... but with that static filling their link, Scrivener was only aware of his anxieties, his frustrations, his pain... things, in other words, not very conducive to getting a good night's rest. He closed his eyes as he laid back, but fidgeted with a grimace... before slowly, his eyes opened and he looked meditatively towards Celestia when the ivory equine stuck her head into the room, smiling at him after a moment and asking quietly when she saw he was awake: "Are you feeling alright, Scrivener Blooms?" "Same as before, pretty much." Scrivy sat up, nodding a little after a moment as he rubbed moodily at his eyes, and when Celestia frowned a bit he shook his head hurriedly. "No, no, it's... it's fine. It's just... more a dull headache than my eyes going all crazy, I'm only seeing weak visions right now. Auras and stuff, mostly harmless." Celestia nodded slowly after a moment, studying him. He looked back, and then Celestia tilted her head to him, gesturing gently for him to follow as she said softly: "I could use some company, and it doesn't look like you're going to sleep anyway. We can talk a little." The charcoal stallion smiled a little after a moment at this, and then he nodded slowly as he slipped out of the bed. He paused for a moment as his legs shivered beneath him, shaking his head out briefly, and Celestia gave him a concerned look... but then he only closed his eyes, murmuring: "I'm alright. It's mostly just... the lack of my link to Luna right now. It feels... well. Unpleasant." The ivory equine nodded after a moment, and then she turned and led the way to the first floor. Scrivener smiled as he followed her, letting himself relax a little as they stepped into the front room of the library and his eyes roved, as they always did, to the gramophone in the corner that was stocked with jazz records and blues music. Celestia caught him looking as she sat down on a pillow on one side of a small table stacked with books and slips of paper, and she laughed quietly as she questioned: "Is it really so strange?" "Maybe just a little. It's an eclectic choice for a Valkyrie who's lived a good... I dunno how long." Scrivener replied as he walked over to join her, sitting down himself at the other side of the furnishing, and Celestia smiled after a moment with a slow shake of her head. "But maybe that's just me trying to squeeze you into the stereotype of liking classical music." "Classical music, Scrivener Blooms, is not actually either very classical or very old." Celestia answered easily, and she hesitated for a moment before continuing: "I like stories, and music that carries... true emotion in it. Old symphonies are beautiful, yes, but... their flawlessness, their design to please – and in particular, please snooty nobles and monarchs – and their precision... it just doesn't resonate with me as much as... the sound and stories that these jazz musicians tell. Their emotions, their flaws, their sad stories... they make it all a part of their music. They are one with their music... they're not using their music to cover up their imperfections, but instead to make their imperfections beautiful." "You sound like me." Scrivener said wryly, and Celestia gave him an amused look. "Alright, alright, I take it back. Maybe you don't sound quite that bad but... close, all the same. Although now I have to wonder... is that why you hired me in the first place, all those years ago?" Celestia tilted her head towards him, responding easily: "And what makes you think, Scrivener Blooms, that I had even read any of your poetry all those years ago at that point?" Scrivener laughed and shook his head, touching his chest as he relaxed visibly and replied with a smile: "Ouch, Celestia, you got me right here. Right here." He patted his breast, and Celestia shook her own head in entertainment before she said softly: "No, that wasn't why I hired you... I hired you on as a scribe because you had enough talent to make even some of the nobles of the Royal Court show emotion during your readings, and because that first glimpse at the poems you read... it made me suspect there was something deeper. But the reason I made you court poet was because of two things: your writing is unrelenting and unapologetic, and because of a poem you wrote that I felt summed up everything I was looking for in a writer when that position opened. Adagio." "Adagio..." Scrivener looked down thoughtfully, reaching up and rubbing under his muzzle... and then he looked up at her, saying slowly: "Wait. I know that poem. That's one of the worst things I've ever written, and I don't just mean technical-wise. And... it definitely would not have been part of the portfolio I had to submit for the position." "It wasn't. There were many ponies applying for the position, all of them published authors, all of them whose talent was writing or similar, and I didn't read any of the poems they submitted for evaluation." Celestia smiled slightly, as Scrivener looked at her curiously. "Instead, I used all that information to track down samples of poetry and prose they hadn't submitted. I knew that they would all send me their very best work, but I wasn't interested in seeing poems they'd written just to please me and steal away the position. I wanted to see what their real poetry was about. I wanted to see the real level of work they produced." "It's a good thing I was clearly the worst writer there, then." Scrivener said blandly, and Celestia smiled amusedly at him before he hesitated, then sighed and looked at her pointedly. "You're going to make me ask, aren't you?" Celestia nodded almost kindly, and Scrivener looked at her with amusement for a few moments before he said finally: "Luna's really been a bad influence on you." He paused, then asked after another moment of her only looking at him with entertainment: "So... why Adagio?" "Now that I know you better, I know that poem was about your mother, Tia Belle... back then, I only had a hunch." Celestia paused for a moment, then she softened, leaning forwards and continuing quietly: "It was a very emotional, very harsh piece of writing. And I know there's no hard and fast set of rules for writing good poetry but... I believe you may have broken a few tenets of writing with your choice of words and phrasing." "Oh, I agree, but... a lot of my poems are like that." Scrivener smiled despite himself, looking over at her with amusement. "As you may have noticed, I don't have a whole lot of respect for rules despite the fact I can also be remarkably cowardly." Celestia only laughed at this, however, shaking her head slowly. "You may be a lot of things, Scrivener Blooms, but you are not a coward. Granted, you used to hide behind your position a lot, but... considering how you were raised and what you went through growing up, I can understand you enjoying your power a little." Scrivener looked at her thoughtfully at this, and Celestia gazed back before he finally asked in a dryly-amused voice: "Please don't tell me you're baiting me into asking you again about why it interested you so much." "No, just taking a moment to let you gather your thoughts, and to gather my own. Telling someone an honest opinion on something so personal... it's difficult, isn't it? It should be treated with dignity, particularly when that work isn't shared with the world so much as... left hidden in plain sight." Celestia said softly, and Scrivener looked up with a frown at this before his eyes widened as he rose a hoof. "That's right! Adagio was eventually published in uh... Horses of Heaven, the book had such a ridiculous title, even by my standards, uh... Improprieties, that big anthology that you had me and a whole bunch of others contribute to, right?" He stopped, then frowned and said slowly: "Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Not only was Adagio not exactly in wide publication when you must have found it by your... Celestia-ness... you were the one who suggested that I include that poem in my selections, weren't you?" Celestia only smiled, and when Scrivener frowned across at her, she said softly: "Another reason I hired you was because... no matter who you talked to, you've always treated them the same. Something that made me happy not only because of how you treated me but... because of how you treated Luna. And because I very quickly learned that if I pressed you on the right subjects, you would drop that little bit of extra respect you always tried to force for me. And even if everypony thinks you're quiet and withdrawn a lot of the time, the right subjects could get you talking with as much excitement and energy as Pinkie Pie shows over a welcome party for a new friend." Scrivener laughed a bit, leaning back and looking across at her awkwardly but also gladly, and then Celestia shook her head and added: "And I know even after what we've experienced together... it can be hard to forget that I'm a Baroness, which I know has very little meaning to you, but also a Valkyrie... which I know you feel great respect for. But I want you to treat me the same way you'd treat any other pony, Scrivener. Perhaps it's selfish, but I'd prefer to be thought of as a friend first and a sister second, and then anything else after that." "I don't see how that's selfish, Celestia." Scrivener smiled a little after a moment, continuing to study her quietly as the ivory equine only shrugged. There was silence for a few moments, and then the charcoal earth pony asked finally: "If I wasn't... married to Luna..." "Then you'd probably be married to Twilight and I would still be reaching out to you as often as I am now." Celestia gave him a look, and Scrivener didn't know how to respond to that before the rainbow-maned mare said softly: "Yes, I know that's not what you meant. You worry too much, Scrivener... and... yes, you are an easy... 'starting point' let's say. But I've been trying to make it clear that I'm your friend for a decade now, and it's not just over guilt that I 'broke your face,' as you so eloquently put it." She halted, then shook her head slowly before looking up at him and meeting his eyes, a slight smile and stranger still, a faint blush on her features as she murmured: "The story that Discombobulation told, 'Because Love Conquers All' as you called it... I think I was one of the few ponies who was able to sit back and truly enjoy it, despite how it... painted myself and my little sister and all the rest of us in such dark ways. But... we were also all free. Even more than that, we were all able to embrace faucets of ourselves and show our true faces to one another, to share connections we don't even now." "But we were also evil. Worse than evil... and I've told you myself what eventually happened to... everyone, and everything. Gymbr consumed and destroyed it." Scrivener said softly, and Celestia gave him a look that was both questioning and amused, and Scrivener hesitated before he sighed, lowered his head, and mumbled awkwardly: "Well, of course I enjoyed the story too, I got to be in charge of everything, was next to omnipotent, and had... well... anyway." He hesitated, then looked up at her and said finally: "I know you're my friend. And I'm glad for it: you're strong, open, wise, and... you're Luna's big sister. You're one of the few ponies or... anything... she still looks up to, much as she frustrates you." "I know. Which is strange, considering how often these days I still wish I was little more like her. A little looser, a little less judgmental, a little more willing to pursue my own interests instead of feeling tied down to watching over Equestria and every little thing..." Celestia paused for a moment, then looked across at him and asked thoughtfully: "Tell me, Scrivener Blooms, because I'm curious and because, since we're completely alone right now, there's no better time to ask. Would you trade your life for... we'll call him Tyrant Scrivener's?" It was clear to the earth pony what she meant, and he smiled faintly for a moment: an expression clear enough to answer Celestia's question, and to make her look at him with both surprise and inquisitiveness before the male shook his head slowly and explained quietly: "No, because I couldn't be trusted with all that power. I know that I can't handle it... and yes, I said I'd like it. I said I enjoyed the story, but... I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy doing drugs and drinking myself stupid, but I'm also well aware the morning after I'd probably feel pretty lousy. I can't... trust myself with certain things. I have weaknesses and flaws that I can't... turn a blind eye to. Besides..." He smiled after a moment. "I already am married to a living powderkeg and I've got ponies like you and Twilight to help watch over me. That, and as Pinkamena taught me, biting and headbutting things is a surprisingly-effective way to get a point across." Celestia laughed quietly, and the two fell into comfortable silence for a few moments. The earth pony gazed across at the ivory mare, feeling calmer, quieter... closer to her... and Celestia looked back at him softly, knowing he wasn't stupid, knowing he understood why she was taking the time to do this. Not just because she cared about him and liked to converse with him, but because she wanted him calmed down. She wanted him to relax, because... "So what is it?" "You're dying." Celestia said quietly, not hesitating as she glanced up, and when Scrivener only smiled at her, she frowned a little at him in surprise. "We're all dying." Scrivener replied gently, and Celestia shook her head slowly, yet smiled faintly all the same: she was both surprised and not in the same moment, reminding herself quietly who she was talking to before the charcoal stallion looked down at his foreleg and asked quietly: "The corruption..." "It's still rampaging through your body, and this time... I don't think it's going to go away." Celestia said quietly, and Scrivener nodded slowly before the ivory equine hesitated, then asked finally, her horn glowing as she lifted a small, sharp letter opener on the table: "May I?" The blade gleamed in the air, and Scrivener sighed before he held out his foreleg, knowing what she wanted... and with only a slight tilt of her head, the letter opener whickered forwards and sliced a thin, shallow cut in the earth pony's limb. He grimaced a bit, less at the sensation of pain and more at the sight of his blood: thick, murky, and ugly, mire mixed with dark red fluid. "As I thought. It's... all this exposure, from the Black Verses to Visionary to whatever these visions are that trigger these fits and transformations... Scrivener, it's poisoned you, and not in a way I know how to fix. That I don't believe even Odin will know how to repair. Your body has... mutated." "Mutated..." Scrivener murmured, looking down at a hoof... and then he grimaced in distaste, closing his eyes with a wry smile and shivering once. "That's not a pleasant word. So... I'm changing into... what, a Wyrm after all?" "If that were true, then you'd be feeling their urges, and your body would be able to handle this poisoning." Celestia responded gently, and Scrivener nodded meditatively as he looked down at the bubbling wound. It had already clotted, and the earth pony sighed as he reached down to rub the muck away, wondering if that was an upside or another downside. "I'm sorry." "Don't be. I think... I think, I knew, anyway. My body aches and feels like there's big long snakes twisting their way through my veins..." Scrivener closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly. "It's not your fault, Celestia. You have nothing to apologize for." "I have a lot to apologize for." The ivory winged unicorn smiled at him after a moment, and then she lowered her head in silence. Scrivener remained quiet as well, rubbing slowly at his chest before Celestia answered his unspoken question in a soft voice: "It won't be fast, but... the corruption will erode you, in body and spirit, bit-by-bit. Somehow, it's healing you even as it eats away at you like acid... but unless we find a way to neutralize it, that only means the pain will be... drawn out even longer." Scrivener nodded calmly, glancing down as Celestia studied him intently, before the earth pony closed his eyes and said softly: "But just me, right?" "Scrivener..." Celestia looked at him quietly, and Scrivener smiled faintly, eyes closed, before the ivory equine leaned forwards and murmured: "Your life is worth something too. Especially to Luna. This news... will devastate her." "I know. But I'm trying to think logically right now, in this... little bubble I have, before the emotions flood in whether I like it or not, whether I really believe that I'm worth something or... or not." Scrivener looked quietly over at Celestia, shaking his head slowly. "I need to save her if I can, Celestia. No matter what that means... and if we can't fix this, then I'm well-aware the only way I'm going to save Luna is... is by cutting our soul link." Celestia looked pained at this, straightening, but Scrivener shook his head quickly and said quietly: "Last resort, though, and only if... this corruption really is terminal and there's no way... out of this." He smiled a bit, asking after a moment: "Does that count as denial?" "No, not yet at least. There's still... time." Celestia said after a moment, sighing softly as she sat back and looked over him worriedly. "Scrivener, don't... do anything foolish. We do have options available to us that no one else does... including, of course, that last leftover miracle of Valthrudnir's." Scrivener closed his eyes and nodded slowly, murmuring: "But that's precious, Celestia. That's truly last-ditch and... only if the pros of fixing me outweigh the cons. After all, I mean... with that miracle, you could save an entire country. An entire world, even, and that's not even an exaggeration." "And so could saving you." Celestia said with gentle but firm self-assurance, and the charcoal earth pony looked at her with surprise before she leaned towards him, meeting his eyes squarely with her own. "Scrivener, you resisted the evil of a Tyrant Wyrm. Beside Luna, you've fought monsters beyond the imagination of even hardened warriors... you've matched wits against Valthrudnir, and even overcome yourself. Your own limitations, and your own sins." Scrivener looked quietly across at Celestia, as the ivory mare looked quietly back, her amethyst eyes locking with the charcoal gaze of the stallion. For a few moments, there was silence... and then the male simply closed his eyes and bowed his head forwards, murmuring quietly: "Celestia... thank you." "No, thank you, Scrivener... for being there for my sister, for being my friend... for exemplifying some of my favorite things." Celestia smiled after a moment despite herself, and Scrivener looked with soft entertainment across at her, laughing a little. "I know it sounds strange, but it is true. We both like flaws... you and I share a lot in common. But I should watch what I say or Luna will accuse me of trying to steal you away again." Scrivener snorted in amusement, looking down and shaking his head as he murmured: "Well, I doubt the fact I'm dying makes me much more attractive. Not to mention these scars and beaten-up body of mine." "Believe me, Scrivener, I've settled for far-uglier partners in the past, in body, mind and otherwise. But I like to think I have improved in that field at least a little." Celestia smiled slightly, shaking her head slowly. "Freya, after all, was never very picky about who she partnered with." The charcoal stallion looked over at her with amusement, and then Celestia looked down meditatively, murmuring musingly: "I do wonder sometimes what it would be like to completely embrace my old life again. The way I was presented in the story Discombobulation told... it wasn't completely correct, but it was very close to the old Freya. But I'm making the conversation about myself again and I apologize, Scrivener, you're simply... very easy to talk to. And it seems to calm you down when I let my thoughts... flow out." "I like to hear people's stories. And I'm nosy as hell, so... I like to see secrets, too. Or things that we don't normally tell others, at least." Scrivener shrugged after a moment, glancing down and rubbing at his face slowly. "Besides. We are all dying, after all... and even if I'm terminal, it sounds like I've got years. That, and... we've been living with death every single day, too, and I can't say that I expect... all of us to survive this either, after all." Scrivener Blooms shook his head a bit, and then he looked up with a slight smile, adding wryly: "Depression, cynicism, and the ability to refuse to take anything seriously all come in very useful at times like this." Celestia sighed softly and shook her head slowly, and then she hesitated before standing up and circling around the table to sit down beside him. Scrivener looked at her with a tilt of his head, and she looked back before reaching a hoof up to rest on his shoulder gently. "Don't take this the wrong way, Scrivener... but I hope you stay alive for a long time." Scrivener smiled wryly at this, and then he closed his eyes and let his head drop to the side with a soft sigh, resting his head on her shoulder and muttering: "Don't worry. I'm fairly certain that if I died too soon, Luna would dig me up and bring me back, one way or the other." He fell quiet, and the two simply sat together in silence for a while, as Scrivener's mind processed things, ignoring the trail of black tears leaking quietly from one eye. They dried over his cheek, but he made no move to wipe them away, only continuing to rest with his head against Celestia's shoulder and her foreleg half-wrapped around him, comforted by the silence, by the presence and honest friendship of the mare who he was honored to call 'sister.' Abruptly, Scrivener looked up and said: "But I guess this has its advantages too, huh? Maybe it's why I can read the Clockworks' memories when they die. Maybe it's why I can... interact with the corruption, so to speak, and why I'm so tough. And it's probably how I was able to tell there was that... that the golem..." Celestia nodded slowly, even as she murmured: "Scrivener, you do understand we can take a few moments to not talk about Clockwork World, yes? There are more pressing matters at hoof right now, at least for you." "Not true. Even my condition is related to Clockwork World, technically." Scrivener sat back a bit, shaking his head and smiling after a moment to Celestia, who studied him thoughtfully at this. "On the one hoof, I have to... I feel that I have to use this... gift or curse or whatever it is to stop Clockwork World. On another, there's the raw, stupid hope that maybe Clockwork World holds a cure to fixing me." Celestia looked down at this thought, nodding slowly: she had gone to see Greece herself earlier, after all, about his findings with the golem 59133: when Greece had pried it open, they had found the core had been a dismembered, wired-in body of dragon, turned to little more than a faded skeleton filled with broken metallic parts and synthetic organs... but also cracked and damaged tubes running with black corruption. The same corruption had been pumping along fuel lines and throughout the corpse of the dragon locked inside the armor shell: it had served as both blood and power source, likely carrying signals between organic core and metal, hybrid magic-and-technology golem body. Only one tube of corruption had been salvageable, and Greece had plans to analyze it to see if he could discover anything at all about it. Either way, this mire, this corruption, seemed to play a large part in Valthrudnir's creations... and now Scrivener had that same toxin flowing in his blood, so he admittedly was quite interested in finding out what Greece could discover about the poison himself. Then the ivory mare looked quietly over at Scrivener and said softly: "I have to ask you to make a promise to me, though, Scrivener... although it's mostly out of concern, and... for my own sake, for my own reassurance. I want you to promise me two things, although I'm only going to phrase it as one: I want you to promise me you aren't going to give in." She looked at him pointedly, and Scrivener looked back up at her, their eyes meeting for a few moments as he understood all too clearly what she meant. That he wouldn't give in to any temptations of power or evil that might come – and knowing Valthrudnir's manipulations all too well, it was more than likely there would be some false promises of power in the near future – but more than that, Celestia wanted the promise that he wouldn't give into the despair. The darkness, the misery, the hopelessness: all words that couldn't quite capture the true, deep, dark emotion he felt. The emotion he liked to hide in sometimes, because even though he expressed it as pain... it was comforting, too. There was no responsibility, wrapped in that spider's web... there was no hiding his instincts, or need for restraint. There was just... the poison, and its bittersweet comforts. Scrivener closed his eyes, then he nodded once before he smiled faintly when Celestia leaned forwards and kissed his forehead quietly. "I trust you, brother. And I'll be beside you and Luna the whole way, no matter what." The charcoal stallion smiled again, looking up at her for a moment before the two traded a tight, firm embrace, resting against one-another before they pulled apart. Then Scrivener looked up, hesitating only a moment before he asked finally: "You loved Odin, didn't you? As Freya, I mean." "I still love him." Celestia said softly, and Scrivener smiled a little at this as the ivory equine closed her eyes and bowed her head forwards, nodding slowly. "But now, as... a friend, and mentor. I've forgiven his past mistakes, admittedly in part because I now understand how... how easy it is to make such stupid decisions myself." She paused meditatively, then studied Scrivener before she asked curiously: "Twilight Sparkle. Do you think... you'll ever..." Scrivener looked at her awkwardly, and Celestia smiled wider as Scrivener blushed deeper, saying apprehensively: "Are you sure you want to ask me questions about her? I. Not only is my relationship very awkward with... well... yes... I'm also afraid of saying the wrong thing to you and getting set on fire." "Oh, Scrivener Blooms, Sleipnir is the only pony who has ever been able to upset me enough that I set him on fire out of irritation. And I think it's very clear that Sleipnir has a... special talent for getting on my nerves." Celestia laughed and shook her head slowly, then she said softly: "I've accepted it, Scrivener, and I care about all of you. Any worries I might have are always alleviated when I see you together... when Antares tells me how much Twilight is teaching him, and how he values honor above all things... and the talks I have with you, and with Luna, and with Twilight herself." She stopped, then looked down at him continuing mildly: "Besides. If you didn't honestly care so deeply about Twilight, I think you and Luna are both aware I would bring my full wrath crashing down on your heads for toying with her. And I think I'm still able to intimidate even Luna enough that even the threat of my anger is more than sufficient enough to keep her from misbehaving too badly..." She softened. "That, and you both have your honor, and Twilight may be naïve but she's far from stupid." Scrivener smiled awkwardly, and Celestia shook her head before adding: "That, and Luna likes to talk to me often about-" "We all know the things Luna likes to talk often about, and I really wish she wouldn't." Scrivener muttered, rubbing at his face with his hooves before he looked at her awkwardly as she studied him thoughtfully. "You're going to ask me something embarrassing, aren't you?" "I was just curious if her stories are exaggerations or truth. With Luna it's always hard to tell, after all, but her nose never twitches and she always has such a pride in her voice that makes me think-" Celestia began, and when Scrivener groaned and flailed his hooves, she laughed and shook her head, giving him an entertained look. "Mischief is fun." "Yes, that's what we need. You being a jerk as well as Luna." Scrivener mumbled, and then he smiled and reached up to shove her lightly with one hoof, and she glanced down in surprise before smiling in return and pushing him gently, almost experimentally, back. "So what haven't we gone over? Luna and I told you all about the fight earlier, and we talked about the corruption, that I'm dying, sex, Twilight, friends... wait, there's a pun in there somewhere, I just need to figure it out." "I wonder if Twilight will ever want to bear a foal." Celestia remarked, and Scrivener stared at her stupidly, leaning back in surprise before she shrugged. "Just thinking out loud." "You're... just causing trouble again." Scrivener shook his head, clearing his throat as he blushed a bit before he stood quickly up, and Celestia gazed over at him with entertainment. "Let's not talk about this." Celestia simply shrugged, then stood up as well, and when Scrivener looked over his shoulder at her curiously, she asked kindly: "Would you like to go for a walk outside, Scrivener? We could circle through Ponyville, and maybe the night air would do good for you." Scrivener hesitated, but then he nodded after a moment, saying finally: "Yeah. Yeah, actually, I'd like that a lot." "Then let's go." Celestia headed towards the door, and Scrivener looked after her curiously before he shrugged and followed after only a moment of hesitation: but even through the strings of apathy and fear and pain, there was a deep gladness, a warmth filling him up now, at the fact that Celestia was sharing so much with him and trusting him so deeply. Category:Transcript Category:Story